HSBC World Elite Mastercard - Up to 40,000 bonus points + first year annual fee waived (70,000 points + annual fee for Quebec)

HSBC's latest offer for their World Elite Mastercard is now out. This offer is better than their standard offer of course but not as good as the one we saw prior to Christmas or the initial launch offer with the card. Nonetheless it is an offer to look into if this card has been on your radar. Remember the card is our choice for the Mastercard category in our Ultimate No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card Portfolio.

A little background on this card - this is not their 'Premier World Elite' which is meant for people who bank at HSBC but rather this card is for any Canadian and it is essentially the same as the Premier version. When HSBC launched this card in 2018 it became obvious they didn't want to only market their credit cards to those who bank with them, rather they wanted to get into the entire lucrative Canadian credit card market.  To learn more about this card outside of this bonus offer I would recommend reading our review of the card. 

From now until March 9, 2020 you can apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and get up to 40,000 bonus HSBC Rewards Points along with having the first year $149 annual fee waived on the primary card.  The bonus is awarded as follows:

• 20,000 Points upon approval (worth $100 towards travel)
• 20,000 Points when you spend $3,000 on the card in the first 90 days (worth $100 in travel rewards)

The 64,000 points once achieved are worth $200 in travel rewards but this card isn't just a travel points card, it is actually a Hybrid Card. This means points can also be converted to partners outside of HSBC Rewards. In this card's case, they can be transferred to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. The points convert as follows:

• 2.5 points to 1 Avios
• 3 points to 1.35 KrisFlyer Miles 
• 3 points to 1.2 Asia Miles 

This means the sign up bonus is worth 16,000 Avios in British Airways' Executive Club which can be used to boost your account should you need. For example, you'd want to tie this offer in with the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card offer. Between the two you would have no less than 51,000 Avios.

Here are some options to check out

• How to get select Canada to U.S. award flights faster by utilizing British Airways' Executive Club 
• How you can easily get a free flight between Toronto and Dublin, Ireland (pre taxes/fees) or 4 flights for $240+fees 

The sign up bonus isn't the only good feature about this card however. It is one of less than a dozen cards in Canada that has No Foreign Transaction fees, it also comes with a $100 annual travel enhancement credit (to use on bag fees, seat selection etc) and like most World Elite Mastercards in Canada it has airport lounge access membership via LoungeKey.

Recommended Reading: No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards for Canadians

Also note the first year free waiver option is not available for Quebec residents so instead they offer up to 70,000 bonus points for getting the card and simple holding on to it:

Now we have heard from a handful of our readers who have applied for this card in the past that the credit limits HSBC gives new customers tends to be on the low side which for some can make it difficult to be able to spend enough on the card to max out the spend portion.

Find out more and apply for the card here.